


Still ; George Weasley

by Stylesobsession



Series: The Us series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:41:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29961105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stylesobsession/pseuds/Stylesobsession
Summary: "𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥"*sequel to Us
Relationships: George Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Us series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203632
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Caitlin Stasey as Allie Ruby Emmalyn Silverberry**

_"Your balls are literally the size of a Knut and that says something."_   
  
  


**Matthew Daddario as Marcus Pablo Partridge**

_"I know you say you're happy, but I don't buy that. I don't think you've been truly happy since he left."_   
  
  


**Matthew Daddario as Timothy Silas Partridge (Marcus' identical twin)**

_"It's – I mean, we can't all get what we want, can we?"_   
  
  


**Tom Maden as William Augustus Grant Silverberry**

_"You have absolutely no idea how long it took for me to grow this. I'm not about to shave because it tickles you when we kiss."_   
  
  


**Oliver Phelps as George Fabian Weasley**

_"Morning."_   
  
  


**James Phelps as Fred Gideon Weasley**

_"Come again?"_   
  
  


**Alex Fitzalan as Grayson Silverberry**

_"Sometimes it's the people you'd never suspect, that ends up stabbing you in the back."_   
  
  


** Disclaimers **   
**_1\. Be aware that this is the sequel to 'Us'. This is the second in the series._ **   
**_2\. I do not own any recognisable characters. Any unrecognisable characters are mine and mine alone._ **   
**_3\. Credit for recognisable characters and the HP world goes to J.K. Rowling._ **   
**_4\. Will include strong smut, language, violence, war and death._ **   
**_5\. I would suggest 15+ for reading but if you're younger and you know you can handle it, then be my guest._ **   
**_6\. Timeline continues from HBP - DH2_ **

** Started on March 6th of 2021 **


	2. Chapter 2

August of 1996

"Why does it matter? White is white."

"Because there is more shades to it! What you suggested was a pale smoke and we need the milky white."

"The milky—" Grayson sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "... I'm lost. I give up. You handle this and I'll go check with the employee to see if they have the _red_ roses."

I narrowed my eyes as I watched Grayson make his way up to the counter.

"Maroon red!" I shouted after him. "We want the maroon red!"

He held up his thumb without looking at me, and I tapped the pen against the notepad in my hand, chewing my lip nervously while watching my oldest brother talk to one of the workers here.

We need to get the right flowers or else William will freak out. I'm the best woman so I have a lot of responsibilities. One of those being keeping Marco calm and if Will is calm, then so is Marco. I'm _his_ best woman, not Williams.

I turned back to the white flowers, looking for the right shade of white. They want milky white roses and maroon red roses, so that's what they'll get.

I'm doing better.

The breakup I was going through, was tough but I'm definitely much better. After the Christmas holidays, we all went back to school and a lot of things happened.

We continued the DA meetings but it was hard because he was there in the very same room.

In early January, ten death eaters escaped from Azkaban in a mass breakout — luckily Carrington was _not_ one of them.

At the end of January, Gryffindor lost to Hufflepuff in Quidditch, probably due to the fact that George, Fred and Harry were all banned from Quidditch for life — that was an order from Umbridge.

In March, I turned eighteen but two days after, Umbridge fired Professor Trelawney and almost kicked her out of the castle, though Dumbledore let her stay seeing as it had been her home for such a long time.

Decree after decree was hung on the wall and suddenly boys and girls had to stay six inches from each other, then eight inches. Seeing as my best friend is a guy, that one was the one that hit the hardest.

At the end of April, Umbridge tried to get me to tell her about the DA. I'm pretty sure she was trying to get me to drink Veritaserum because she called me to her office and seemed very desperate for me to drink a cup of tea, though I figured it out quickly and refused to drink.

She did end up finding out about the DA and since it stood for 'Dumbledore's Army' they thought it was Dumbledore who started it. Dumbledore took the blame and he fled before he could get arrested.

The day after, George and Fred set off fireworks on the second floor and the same week, Easter holidays started.

That's when dad married Rose.

In the first week of May, George and Fred created a portable swamp and after Umbridge basically threatened them, they departed from the school, announcing the opening of their shop.

The next week, Peeves loosened a chandelier and I'm pretty sure McGonagall helped.

During the last week of May, Ravenclaw won against Slytherin. 150-180.

Then during all of June, I had exam after exam but I passed them all. Both Marco and I did.

We finished our last year and now Marco's working with Ollivander while I'm working in the leaky cauldron with Will being my boss.

"Look." Grayson was back, holding up two different bouquets of flowers. "These are the ones, right?"

I took a look at them before nodding.

"Yeah. We just need enough for the aisle." I said. "One colour for every other row but on both sides. I'm terrible at math so you try and figure it out."

Something else happened during my last year at Hogwarts.

In June, there was a battle at the ministry. You-know-who and his death eaters were included and so was several members of the order.

We lost Sirius.

Killed by his own cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. I wasn't that close to Sirius. I had had a few conversations with him but it's still a loss, especially for Harry.

My mother is grieving too. Her and Sirius were great friends and now he's suddenly gone and never coming back.

The ministry was forced to admit that he-who-must-not-be-named has returned and that means that the second wizarding war has officially begun.

With everything that has been happening for the last 14 months, I've started to fear death. I'm not scared of me dying — I'm scared of people in my life dying.

"I'll go make the order." Grayson told me. "Go get some fresh air. You look like you're about to pass out."

I handed Grayson the money we were using to pay for it, before I walked out of the boutique, feeling the chill summer air hit me right in the face.

Over the last eight months, I let my hair grow out again. My hair is no longer blue and I don't have bangs anymore. It's longer, but I like it.

I've also lost some weight.

I did that for me, not because of other people's opinions. I'm still not what you would call a skinny girl, I've got fat on my stomach, my hips, my thighs and my arms, but I _have_ lost some weight.

I've gotten more tattoos on my body. I have three small butterflies on my right side which represents evolving and I believed I've evolved a lot in the past few years. I've gotten more confident and though I've had my challenges, I've learned to love myself.

Under my left boob, I have the words _'love yourself first'_ written in a very beautiful cursive font.

Then I have a sun on the middle finger on my left hand between the two knuckles and a half moon on my ring finger between my nail and my knuckle.

I have the words _'be kind'_ on the same hand, on the back of the hand, where the wrist meets the hand.

And my last tattoo is a small heart on my right shoulder. People say not to get something about your boyfriend or an ex, but that heart represents George.

We might not be together and I may not have seen him since he and Fred quit school, but he'll always be a part of my heart. He helped me so much with both confidence but also learning what a healthy relationship is.

It sucks that it had to end, but thats how things are sometimes. Unfortunately.

I also got my septum pierced. That was exciting. Timothy sat with me when I got it done a few weeks ago, holding my hand so I could squeeze it if it hurt too much.

It wasn't that bad.

The first thing Marco did when he saw it, was poke it and that hurt like shit.

"That's that." Grayson told me when he left the boutique to stand with me outside. "They will be delivered to your mum's address on the wedding day. That was the last thing we needed, right?"

I nodded.

"Thank you for helping me." I smiled. "You're free to go."

Grayson laughed softly and gave me a hug before looking around to see if anyone were watching so he could grab his wand.

"I'll see you at the wedding." he told me, and I gave a small nod before he disapparated. At the same time, I pushed myself off the wall and looked around too while pulling out my wand. When no one were watching, I apparated, landing in front of the leaky cauldron.

I pocketed my wand as I entered the building, approaching the bar as William was talking to a customer. When the conversation ended, my brother turned to me, hands placed flat against the bar and his eyebrows raised.

"Marco just left for work if he's who you're looking for." he said. "Did you..."

"Order the flowers?" I asked. "I did that and I also ordered the chairs for the ceremony. It should all be delivered on the big day."

Will smiled as he leaned over the bar and hugged me.

"Thank you."

"Is he still asleep?" I questioned, motioning to the flat on the other side of the street. William followed my finger with his eyes before nodding.

"I'm pretty sure that he is." he said. "He was when Marco got here and that can't have been more than ten minutes ago."

I nodded and pushed myself away from the bar.

"I'll see you at nine!" I told him, leaving the leaky cauldron again. My shift didn't start until nine which would be in about fifty-five minutes so I still had some time with the handsome fella sleeping in the flat.

I let myself into the flat and pushed off my shoes. I hung my jacket on the fall and ran my hand through my hair before entering my bedroom. I smiled at the sight, slowly closing the door behind me to not wake him.

I carefully got onto the bed, got down next to him and threw a leg over him which made him groan and move a little as he slowly woke up. I planted a kiss on his nose, running a hand through his hair.

"Babe, what're you doing?" he asked, wrapping his arm around me as he rested his forehead against mine.

"Wishing you a good morning." I said, turning him onto his back while getting on top of him. He opened his eyes just a little to look at me but closed them again.

When I leaned down to kiss his neck, he turned his head to the side, stretching his neck and giving me more access.

"I could get used to being woken up like this." he yawned, running his hand up to my hip.

I chuckled against his neck.

"It does seem to turn you on." I whispered, rocking my hips against his when I felt the erection grow beneath me. "Huh, _Timmy boy?"_


	3. Chapter 3

"But the thing is – he dies in the end, you know." I said, shaking my head at the thought as I leaned against the bar, waiting for the food to be ready in the kitchen so I could bring it to the table of the costumers who ordered it. "And that's sad. Makes me cry each and every time."

"Then don't read it." William shrugged. "It's like you _want_ to cry."

I rolled my eyes and scratched my cheek while looking out at the leaky cauldron, watching the different people have conversation and laugh about things.

"Have you invited... you know—"

"A certain pair of tall gingers?" Will asked, and when I looked at him, chewing on the inside of my cheek, he raised his eyebrows at me. "And a short guy with dreadlocks?"

"Well—" I breathed. "Yeah... have you?"

He shook his head and grabbed a glass to dry it off.

"You're not ready for that."

"What?" I laughed. "It's _your_ wedding, not mine. I shouldn't be an influence on your guest list."

William looked at me again, pausing for a moment.

"Nah... you're _really_ not ready for that."

I rolled my eyes, walking around the bar to help him dry the glasses.

"You know what sucks?" I asked. "We broke up and I also fell apart with Fred and Lee. They were my friends and now they're not."

William chuckled and nudged me with his elbow.

"You really think that would've worked?" He asked. "Being friends with his brother and his brother's boyfriend?"

I shrugged.

"I kinda miss pissing Fred off." I said with a small laugh. "But things are great now, you know? I still have Marco and I'm happy with Timothy—"

"Yeah right."

I frowned as I looked at William who put the glasses away, then took the one from my hand that I had just dried.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

William looked at me.

"Huh?"

 _"Yeah right."_ I mocked. "Why'd you say that?"

He shrugged.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said. "Why don't you stay behind the bar? I'll go see if the food in the kitchen if finished."

He left the bar before I got to say anything else, but it left me wondering.

William didn't think I was happy?

I _am_ happy.

Timmy and I are happy together. I love him, and he loves me.

The bell above the door, earned my attention, but as soon as I turned and I saw the familiar people, I did the first thing that came to my mind.

I ducked.

My eyes were wide as I tried to process who I had just seen enter the leaky cauldron.

_Oh shit._

I crawled to the corner of the bar, moving aside some of the bottles so I could sit there and hide until he left again.

_This is not happening._

I hadn't seen him since he left school. That's three months and before that, we didn't even talk because we were broken up.

_This is okay._

_It's alright._

_I'll just sit here until he leaves._

"Allie!" William's voice caught my attention. He stood by the door to the kitchen, carrying plates on his arms. He cocked an eyebrow at me when I shushed him violently. "Why are you on the floor? I don't pay you to just sit there."

I held up ten fingers as to signal ten minutes, but he shook his head.

"Get off the floor and serve the bar."

He continued to give costumers their food and I sighed before slowly getting off the floor, feeling the embarrassment at people seeing me do so.

"Allie?"

_No._

_Maybe if you ignore him, he'll go away._

When he approached the bar, leaning against it, I found it so much harder to ignore him. He was sitting right there, looking at me while I was trying to calm down.

"You work here?"

I sighed and looked at him. He was sitting there, wearing the same jumper I used to wear, along with some light white jeans.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, gesturing towards the menu on the wall.

"Uh— not anything right now." He said, tapping his fingers against the bar. "I'm kind of waiting for someone."

I nodded.

"Well... I'm here when you're ready to order." I said, running my hand over the bar before moving to the other end of it so I didn't have to stand there with him.

"Allie." William approached the bar, leaning on it with his hands. "Go take a break. You look stressed."

I glanced towards George before leaning closer to William.

"Well, look to your right and it'll explain why," I said. "But thanks. I'll go see Marco."

I patted William on the shoulder before I hurried out of the bar and out into the alley that led to diagon alley.

Managing to open up the brick wall, I slid through and hurried down the street of busy people.

Right now, a lot of families were shopping for their children who needed to start another year at Hogwarts in only a few weeks.

My sisters were going back too. Eleanor started her fourth year and Charlotte started her third.

Charlotte got her first cycle this month when we were all at mum's house. I was the one she came to about it and I helped her with everything she didn't know.

Honestly, I felt a little honoured, being the one my sister chose to come to about it.

I entered Ollivanders. There was no one in the middle of buying a wand, and the only person I could see, was Marco in the middle of staring at the wall for some reason.

He had probably smoked a little too much weed this morning. William is trying to get him to stop smoking it, and I kinda want him to stop as well but I think he's gotten himself addicted.

He refuses to quit. Every time William mentions it, he simply laughs, drops his expression and then walks away.

If he can, he simply avoids the conversation.

"Marco." I called out, earning his attention. When he saw me, he started smiling. "Will just gave me a break but I don't think it's more than ten minutes so I have to hurry—"

"What?" He questioned, fully turning to me.

"Alright... first— why were you staring at the wall?"

He shrugged.

"There's a crack." He said, pointing to the wall, but I narrowed my eyes when I couldn't see it. "Right there..."

"There's no— alright." I breathed. "Guess who's sitting in the leaky cauldron. Fucking George!"

He nodded slowly, pushing his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"Not curious George?"

I sighed.

"Marco, be serious for a moment, please."

"Okay." He held up his hands in surrender. "But why do you care that he's there? You've moved on with Timothy, remember? My brother?"

"And I love Timothy." I pointed a finger at Marco. "This had nothing to do with him. It's just awkward. He just shows up there like; _ooh, I'm waiting for someone..."_

Marco raised his eyebrows, biting down on his tongue to not laugh.

"So what if he's waiting for someone?" I scoffed. "I'm dating the guy he doesn't like. I won."

"Wait—" Marco let out a laugh. "...don't tell me you're being competitive right now?"

I folded my arms over my chest but I didn't say anything.

"A breakup isn't a competition, Allie." He told me. "There's to points to earn."

I scoffed.

"I _know_ that." I told him. "But I still fucking won. Two-zero to me."

Marco walked over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Two points? ... for what?"

"Well, first of all... I was the bigger person and gave him his Christmas present even though we broke up."

"Didn't _he_ give _you_ your present first?"

_Well..._

"Yes, but he gave me a mixtape. He's a simp and I'm the bigger person."

"So you're not a simp?" He questioned. "Didn't you get him a guitar because you know he loves to sing and play?"

I rolled my eyes, pushing Marco away from me before folding my arms over my chest again.

"Second of all—" I continued. "...I fucked the guy he wanted to kill last summer and he's only _now_ going out with someone."

Marco shook his head at me with a deep sigh leaving his mouth.

"Allie, I don't think you should be in a relationship if you're not over your ex."

"Over my—" I let out a laugh. "...you're funny. _Really_ funny. I'm over George. I'm done with him and I'm with Timmy... _your_ brother whom I love very much. We actually have a date after work."

Timothy works as an alchemist which is really hot when you think about it.

"How are you even dating him?" Marco looked at me with a disgusted expression. "He has my face."

"I don't see it like that." I said. "To me, you don't even look alike. You're way too different in all ways."

"That's a lie." He told me. "Because Timothy no longer dyes his hair. We have the same face, the same body and the same hair. Basically you're sleeping with me..."

Both of us went quiet as soon as he said that. I didn't know what to say and I could tell he regretted saying the words as soon as they slipped from his lips.

"I'm going back to work." I said slowly and Marco, nodded, agreeing before I left the shop.

_I'm just gonna act like he never said that._

When I got back to the leaky cauldron, William was taking an order from George who now sat next to Angelina from school.

_Why does that hurt?_

_2-1 to him._

Going on a date with the woman he slept with before me. That's okay. I'm in my own relationship.

_That's okay._


	4. Chapter 4

"I need to be honest with you." I said as Timothy and I sat in the grass in Hyde park after we went for dinner together.

Timothy leaned back on his hands, his legs crossed as he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah?" He questioned before he looked at me. "What's up?"

I sighed as I turned my body towards him. He seemed to sense it was a bit serious, causing him to sit up straight.

"I saw George today." I blurted and when I saw Timothy's expression change, I realised how that sounded. " _Not_ like that... he came into the leaky cauldron and uh— he was actually on a date, but I just wanted to tell you because I did get a little weird about it."

He nodded slowly.

"Weird how?"

"I don't— I went to see Marco after George had walked into the leaky cauldron." I said. "And I think I may have used you to compete against George. I said that I earned a point because I fucked the guy George wanted to kill a year ago..."

Timothy didn't say anything.

"I don't want to ruin our date." I said. "But I just needed to tell you because I feel guilty about saying that and that's not what I meant _at_ all. I love you and I'm not with you to compete against him."

A small smile spread on his face while he moved closer to me.

"I know." He nodded, taking my hand. He laced our fingers together. "It's okay. Thanks for telling me."

"Yeah." I breathed. "But I also need to tell you that I got a little jealous and felt hurt because he was on a date. I don't— I don't want to emotionally cheat on you and that's why I'm telling you this. I don't know why I reacted that way to seeing him but—"

"I know why." He said. "You still love him—"

"What? I don't—"

"It's okay, Allie." He chuckled. "George was your second boyfriend but he was your first love."

I felt bad.

"And you never stop loving your first love." He told me. "It's scientifically proven. I know you're not over him and I know that it'll take a while to fully commit to another person, but I'm okay with that. I know you're trying your best to get over him and I know you choose to be with me because you _want_ to be with me."

I smiled and leaned into Timothy, placing my head on his shoulder while I closed my eyes.

"I love you." I whispered, lifting my head a little while he turned his. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips before smiling at him.

"I love you too." He grinned and brought his hand up to brush some of my hair behind my ear. "Stay the night with me in my flat, yeah?"

I groaned.

"Then I'll have to get up earlier." I said, sighing before I chuckled. "But that's fine."

Timothy laughed, shaking his head at me.

"Good... I also need your help dying my hair again."

My eyes immediately went wide and I gasped while sitting up straight.

"You're gonna dye your hair again?!"

"Yeah... pink this time." He said. "Meaning I'll have to bleach it first, but I reckon you'd want to help with that too?"

I nodded eagerly.

"Fuck yes. I can't wait." I said, running my fingers through his hair. "You're gonna look so hot. You already look hot but you'll look... _hotter."_

"Oh yeah?" He grinned, leaning closer to me, planting a kiss against my lips.

I laughed softly, wrapping my arm around his neck as he wrapped his around my back and we ended up in the grass, me on my back and he hovering over me.

We kept exchanging small kisses, giggling and smiling before it simply wasn't small kisses anymore.

Our lips melted together and I ran my hand into his hair while the kiss deepened.

I ran my other hand underneath his shirt and up his back while wrapping my legs around his hips, squeezing and earning a moan in response.

He thrusted his hips against mine, then broke out of the kiss to look at me.

"Alright, I know you have a kink for having sex in public places." He told me, brushing his fingers through the front of my hair. "But I don't."

"I know." I chuckled. "Let's go back to your place and do it against your sofa."

Timothy laughed, knowing I had grown fond of having sex against a sofa, and seeing as I live with two other people, we can't exactly do that there.

 _Especially_ because one of them is my brother and the other is Marco's brother.

Timothy got up and reached out a hand, helping me to my feet as well. He grabbed his wand and planted a kiss on my cheek before apparating the both of us right into his flat, next to the side table in his living room.

He put his wand on the table, and immediately grasped my jaw, reconnecting our lips while my hands went to undo the buttons in his shirt.

As his hands found the button in my trousers, someone cleared their throat, scaring the both of us shitless.

We pulled apart quickly, turning to see Marco sit in the armchair, spinning his wand around between his fingers.

"Have I not asked you to never do that in front of me?" He asked. "It's like seeing myself make out with my best friend."

Timothy shrugged.

"You've already done that once."

"Oi!" Marco stood up, pointing a finger at Timothy. "Just because that happened, does not mean we have to mention it! It was a mutual agreement between Allie and I. We needed to get out first kiss done and—"

"I know this already, Marcus." Timothy said. I buttoned my trousers again as I sat down on the sofa with a sigh. "Mate, what are you doing here?"

"Uh—" Marco let out a laugh. "...I'm getting married in a week. I know they say you can't sleep with your fiancé the night before, but I _really_ don't want to be cursed so we are making it a whole week. I'm sleeping here."

"You're not gonna get cursed if you sleep in the same bed a week befo—"

"Allie!" Marco held up a hand. "I make my own rules."

_Oh I know._

"There'll be no sleeping with my best friend tonight." Marco told Timmy. "You can go sleep in your bed and she'll stay with me on the sofa."

"Marco—"

"Don't start with me, Allie." He sent me a warning look, and I sighed, rolling my eyes as he looked at Timothy again. "That's my best friend right there and I don't need you sticking your vagina into her hole... _no that's not right_ —"

"Are you high right now?" Timothy asked in annoyance.

"Mate." Marco laughed. "I'm _always_ high. Ask Allie. She knows!"

Marco stumbled back into the armchair while I looked at Timothy who now looked at me.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"What?"

"My brother is a user and you didn't think to tell me?!"

"Woah!" I stood up. "I thought you knew! He likes to smoke weed and sometimes accidentally smokes a little too much but—"

Timothy let out a scoff, shaking his head at me while placing his hands on his hips.

"Timmy—"

"And you haven't done anything?!" He raised his voice at me. "My brother is gonna end up like a fucking drug addict who lives on meth and stuff like that, all because you don't—"

"Oi!" Marco yelled. "Stop yelling at her!"

_What the hell is going on..._

"This is _not_ my fault." I said. "I have told Marco what I think about it, but we're all young and as long as it's weed and he has it under control— I know he doesn't right now and I—"

"You're his best friend!" Timothy suddenly seemed very angry, confusing me. I hated when we got into arguments, because when he got angry, he got really angry and I think I've got trauma when it comes to yelling. "You should've talked to someone the _second_ you knew he had a problem—"

Timothy had taken a step towards me and I automatically backed up, but he never continued towards me.

"Timmy, you're yelling at me." I said softly. "Please stop that."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at Marco.

"Kitchen... _now."_ He said. "Apparently sobering you up is going to be _my_ job."

I watched as Marco followed Timothy into the kitchen and I sunk down on the sofa again.

_Oh Jesus._


	5. Chapter 5

I stepped into the kitchen, seeing Timothy force Marco to drink coffee.

"I'm just gonna leave." I said, causing Timothy to look at me. "I'm not feeling very well so I'll go home and get some sleep."

"Wha— Allie I'm sorry." Timothy sighed. He glanced at Marco before he followed me into the hallway. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Scared me?" I asked, shaking my head. "No... you didn't. I'm just not feeling well."

I ran my hands over my face. Him yelling at me just completely ruined my mood.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." He said. "But— I know I don't show it much, but Marco means the world to me. He's my brother and— I hate drugs. Our uncle used to do a lot of drugs and he'd always take it out on him when our parents weren't around. I just got a little mad."

"Yeah." I nodded. "It's fine. I'm just— I'm overreacting. Right now I just want to go home, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned and walked to the door, but when I grabbed the door handle, I stopped, sighing and turned around.

"No, you know what? It's not okay." I said. "You yelling at me like that is _not_ okay. I do not _need_ to tell you something like that because I promised Marco, and it's not my fault that you didn't notice that he's high most of the time. I'm your girlfriend — not someone you can just yell at whenever you're upset."

When he didn't respond, I walked past him and into the kitchen where Marco was in the middle of falling asleep while leaning against the counter.

"Marco, we're going home." I said. "You don't have to sleep in the same bed as Will. You can sleep in _my_ bed."

He muttered a _'yeah'_ in agreement, before I pulled out my wand, grabbed Marco's hand and apparated the both of us to outside of the flat.

I wrapped an arm around his back, supporting his weight as we got up to the flat and I let us in.

"Let's get you to the bathroom." I said, helping him through the flat and out into the bathroom where I guided him to sit on the toilet seat.

I crouched in front of him, taking his face in my hands.

"Look at me." I said. His head hung low so I had to lift it up a little while he opened his eyes.

His pupils were contracted.

"What did you take?" I asked, knowing this wasn't the effect of weed.

He groaned in response, sinking further down while throwing his head back.

"I'm not addicted, I swear." He mumbled. "You all think I'm an addict and I'm _not."_

"Hey." I said softly, moving his head so he could look at me again. I offered him a soft smile. "We don't think that. Just tell me what you took, and I'll help you."

He grabbed my face, mimicking my actions, and grinned down at me before pouting.

"He hurt me, okay? I'm in pain." He said. "I needed the pain to go away."

"Will?" I questioned, but Marco shook his head, let go of my face before he stood up and stumbled out of the bathroom.

I followed him into the living room where he threw himself on the sofa.

_Who the fuck hurt him?_

William wasn't home right now. He had some work to do in the leaky cauldron. Something to do with the bills.

"Marco?" I asked. "Will you please tell me what you took?"

He rolled onto his back and a second later, he threw up onto the floor. I made a face of disgust, hating that I now had to clean that up, but he's my best friend so I'll do that.

Once I did, I placed a bucket by the sofa so he had something to throw up in.

"I don't like that he yells at you." He mumbled, his eyes closed and an arm hung over his forehead.

"Timmy?" I questioned. "Well... you yell at me too sometimes."

He shook his head.

"Only for fun."

He threw up again, this time in the bucket. At the same time, the door to the flat opened, and William entered.

I looked down the hallway, seeing him push off his shoes and hang his jacket on the wall. Then he looked at me and he sighed.

"Allie... your _shoes."_

"Marco is high on something." I told him, gesturing towards the sofa. "He won't tell me what but he's throwing up and he said something about someone hurting him."

In a matter of seconds, William was by the sofa, removing Marco's arm from his forehead so he could get a look at him.

"Marco, baby." He said softly. "Can you look at me? Let me see your eyes."

Marco opened his eyes and smiled when he saw William, but he closed them again a second later.

William then checked both of his eyes and sighed, motioning for me to come closer.

"See this?" He asked, showing me what looked like a dot at the crook of his elbow. "That's from a needle and his eyes are contracted. He's throwing up and—"

Will looked at me again.

"Heroin?" He said but it sounded like a question. He looked at Marco again. "Marco, did you take heroin?"

Marco simply nodded and I immediately hurried to their room to find Marco's potions for getting sober.

When I found it, I hurried back into the living room, popping open the vial.

"Get him to sit up." I said, waiting for William to do that before I put the vial up to Marco's lips.

He cooperated and grabbed it himself, downing it all.

"He's going to throw up a lot in a few minutes." I told William. "I'll go get him some water so he doesn't dehydrate."

William simply nodded, looking at Marco with worry while caressing his cheek.

I walked into the kitchen, pouring a glass of water while my thoughts were all over the place.

_Heroin?_

Marco doesn't do heroin. He's been doing weed for years, but I didn't think he'd ever do anything stronger than that.

"Allie!" William called, his voice full of panic. I hurried into the living room and froze at what I saw, my eyes wide.

William had peeled Marco's shirt off, revealing tons of bruises, blue and purple all over his torso.

"What the fuck." I mumbled as Marco grabbed the bucket and started throwing up again while William sat next to him, brushing his fingers through his hair repeatedly.

I walked over and placed the glass on the table before sitting on the other side of Marco.

"Who did this?" I asked, running my fingers over a bruise on his side. "Is this what you meant when you said someone hurt you?"

When Marco was done with that round of throwing up, he rested his arms around the bucket, hanging his head low.

"This is why I didn't want to go home." He said. "I wanted to stay at Timothy's place because he never notices when anything's wrong."

"So the whole thing about wanting to sleep in a different bed than Will's for a week, was—"

"... not true." He mumbled, throwing his head back against the sofa. "I got off work, I went to buy a wedding present for you—"

He placed a hand on William's thigh.

"Someone jumped me." He said. "Beat me up. I protected my face and I'm happy they left no mark there, but my body wasn't so lucky."

He let out a laugh, then groaned and wrapped an arm around his stomach.

"I didn't see their faces and I couldn't reach for my wand because they kept kicking me in the torso. At first I didn't know why, but then they kept calling me faggot and I realised that I was wearing eyeliner which _apparently_ makes me gay." He said. "I'm not gay but I'm not straight either and—"

He clamped a hand over his eyes while inhaling sharply.

"I didn't want to go home because I didn't want to ruin the mood. The wedding is in a week and all we need is happy vibes." He said. "So I tried smoking some weed but it didn't help. I then found a dealer — I know where they hangout in London. I bought some heroin and I— well, it helped."

William and I looked at each other, neither of us knowing what to say.

This is reality.

This is what non-straight people go through. They're judged, they're hated and sometimes... something like this happens.

I'll never get it because I'm straight, but that doesn't mean I cannot hate what people do to those who aren't.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days later, I walked around the leaky cauldron in the afternoon, washing off the tables.

These past few days, I hadn't been able to think about anything else than someone jumping Marco and beating him up because they thought he was gay.

He's in a gay _relationship_ and so what if he _was_ gay? Why can't people just accept each or her for who they are?

It makes me so pissed and it's one of the reasons I wanted to be a journalist and have my own newspaper. I wanted to write my own stuff about equality and make a difference.

Though I gave up on that, because I'm a coward.

Marco acts like it's not a big deal.

_"That's just how it is being queer in today's society"_

That's not how it's supposed to be for Christ sake. We're supposed to be supporting each other. Not hating each other for being themselves.

What's wrong with liking your own gender? Why does it even matter to some people? Mind your own fucking business because it's not hurting anyone.

"Allie."

"What?!" I snapped and spun around, my expression falling as soon as I saw George. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I needed to— _Allie."_ He spoke as I pushed past him and walked to the bar.

"What?" I asked in annoyance. "Do you need a drink? Food? A room?"

"I need _you."_

I froze. I stared at the wall in front of me before slowly turning around to look at him.

"I didn't know you worked here when I decided to have a date with Angie here at the start of the week but—" he sighed. "... I saw you and now I can't get you out of my head. I miss you."

He leaned on the bar with his arms, trying to reach for me, but I backed up.

"I have a boyfriend." I said. "And I'm happy. I'm still trying to move on from you which he understands, but that can't happen if you show up at my workplace."

George straightened up, pushing his hands into the pockets of his trousers while looking at me with an intense look.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "And you were _just_ on a date with Angelina. She's a nice girl so don't you _dare_ do that to her. You don't date someone and then go tell your ex that you miss her."

"I'm not— it was _one_ date." He told me. "There was no spark so we agreed to just stay friends. I still love you. I've always loved you."

"Stop— George, stop." I said, shaking my head. "I'm in a committed relationship. You need to—"

The bell above the door rang as Timothy entered, stopping when he saw George.

"What are you doing here? Allie, what's he doing here?"

"Nothing." I said. "He was just leaving."

"Allie—"

"You heard her." Timothy said, approaching the bar. "She told you to leave."

"And was I talking to _you?"_ George turned towards him, then looked at me again. "Don't tell me _he's_ the one you're with."

"Yes, he is." I nodded. "Is that an issue?"

Timothy walked around the bar and placed a bag of take-out on the surface before he ran a hand through his hair, watching the interaction between George and I.

"Seriously? You're dating the guy who kissed you when we were together?"

"And now I can kiss her whenever I want to." Timothy said, looking at George. "And I get to wake up to her, go on dates with her and fuck her."

_Alright stop for a second..._

"Don't—"

I stopped talking when I saw George's reaction. He gritted his teeth, staring at Timothy like he wanted to punch him.

"She's not an item." He said. "So stop showing her off like one."

"You're just jealous because she's mine—"

"I am no ones!" I snapped. "Timothy, you're acting like a dick right now."

They both looked at me and George smiled in satisfaction.

"And so are you." I pointed a finger at him before pointing at the door. "Leave. _You_ dumbed _me."_

"Because I was—"

"I know why!" I exclaimed. "But what happened wasn't my fault! I told you I didn't blame you, that I still wanted you and you still left me!"

Timothy went to speak but George held up his hand to shut him off.

"I would've been a horrible boyfriend if I stayed." He said. "I hated myself for how I treated you. I might've been under a curse but the expression on your face when I called you those things, _hurt."_

I sighed.

"We could've had a break." I shrugged. "But it's over and I'm happy now so please leave."

He nodded, offering a small smile.

"Okay. Well, I'm glad to hear that you're doing okay." He said before glaring at Timothy on his way out.

"So—" Timothy breathed. "...food?"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing before walking out of the bar to go back to cleaning tables.

"What?" He asked, watching me. "Don't tell me you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." I shook my head. "I just think rubbing that in his face was an idiotic move. That along with telling him I'm yours."

"But you _are_ mine."

"I am my _own_ property!" I snapped. "Saying that I'm yours is like claiming me as an item and I do not want to be seen as something you own! Did you pay money for me? No!"

"Oh... fuck, I'm sorry, Allie." He said. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I don't see you as property. I just don't like that he shows up and tries to get you back."

I stopped for a moment, sighing.

"I don't either."

I heard Timothy's footsteps and a few seconds later, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, planting a kiss on my shoulder.

"I'm a little nervous, to be honest." I said. "I know you're trying to move on from him, but if he keeps showing up..."

"He won't." I said. "He didn't try to get with me when he knew I was with Cameron so he won't try and get with me now... and I don't want him anymore. I want _you."_

I turned my head as he turned his and our lips met in a soft and short kiss.

"I love you." I whispered, looking at his lips. He hummed, kissing me again.

He smiled and turned me again, grabbing the back of my thighs, lifting me onto the table which made me shriek and drop the cloth to the floor.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he put his hands on my hips.

"William's not in the building, is he?" He asked and looked around before looking at me again. "Or anyone else for that matter."

I chuckled.

"Babe, three of the rooms upstairs are rented, plus Tom still lives here."

Timmy hummed softly before nodding.

"Alright, well... when you're finished here, why don't we take the food to your room and have some fun afterwards?" He asked, kissing me again.

"That sounds like a plan." I smiled. "I just need to wash the rest of the tables."

"Okay." Timothy said softly and locked a strand of my hair behind my ear before walking back to the bar, pulling himself up to sit on it. "Allie?"

"Yeah?"

"You look really beautiful today." He said. "You always do, but I don't think I tell you enough."

I looked at him, smiling.

"You look really beautiful too." I grinned, causing him to laugh softly. "What kind of food did you get?"

"Indian." He told me. "Tandoori chicken for me and chicken vindaloo curry for you."

I picked up the cloth from the floor and walked over to exchange it for one that hadn't been on the floor.

"That sounds delicious." I pecked Timothy's lips on my way to the kitchen. I exchanged the cloth and wetted the new one before walking back out to the tables.

"Do you want to stay the night?" I asked. "I miss having you in my bed."

He chuckled.

"Aw, you miss me?" He pouted. "It's only been a couple of days."

"So?" I asked with a cheeky grin. He kept watching me as I finished up in here.

It was my turn to lock up today and now it seemed that I was finished, so I could go eat with Timmy.

"You ready to go?" I asked after finding the keys.

"Yep." Timmy jumped off the counter, grabbed the food before following me outside. I locked the door before I wrapped my arm around Timothy's back as we walked across the street.

When we entered the flat, William and Marco were watching a film in the living room, cuddled up. Will had been all about comforting Marco after we found out that he had been attacked in Muggle London.

"Hi guys." I said while Timothy and I put our shoes by the wall.

I watched as Marco turned his head and William tilted his back to they could both look at us.

"Hey, did you lock up?"

"No." I shrugged. "I simply let the door open for all the criminals that want to rob the place."

"Ha." He rolled his eyes, turning his attention back on the small television.

"Remember to not have sex." Marco told us. "I don't like that."


	7. Chapter 7

_Wedding day._

Today, my two favourite people in the world were getting married.

William Augustus Grant Silverberry

Marcus Pablo Partridge.

Marco was going to take the Silverberry name, making him Marcus Pablo Silverberry instead, though he was more excited about sharing a last name with me than sharing one with his soon-to-be-husband.

I'm still angry that this isn't a legal wedding. I'm still angry that they don't have the opportunity to get an actual priest or something to do the ceremony.

They can't sign a wedding certificate. All they can do is invite people, have a ceremony with vows and legally change their names.

Mum is gonna be doing the ceremony — she's pretty excited about that.

"Will?" I called, knocking on the door to the bedroom that mum furnished for him in her new house.

She made sure all her children had their own room here in case we wanted to come home for a while or _needed_ to.

"You can come in." I heard my brother say, and I opened the door, smiling when I saw him.

He was standing in a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath, looking at himself in the mirror.

Dad was in here, looking proud and uncle Raymond sat on the bed, eating a bag of crisps.

"Hi." I smiled. "Marco sent me."

"Please don't tell me you have a camera on you." William said. "Marco can't see me until the wedding, just like I can't see _him_ until the wedding."

"Don't worry." I held up my hand in defence. "I don't have a camera. The only one I own is at home."

William chuckled.

"Dad... Raymond, can you leave us alone for a moment?" He asked. "I need to speak to Allie."

I frowned, but dad then patted Will on the shoulder while Raymond mumbled something, still eating crisps as the two left.

After dad closed the door, I walked closer to William to tie the tie that hung loosely around his neck.

"What's up?" I asked. "Nervous about today?"

"A little." He nodded, looking down at me. "But uh— today also reminds me of something."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He confirmed. "About this girl... nine months younger than me, and a guy she dated for eleven months—"

_Uh oh._

"He seemed to be the first person she was actually happy with and they seemed to be good for each other. Their relationship was healthy and they understood each other's boundaries." He said. "They could even see each other get married in the future but then some fucked up shit happened and now she's with this _other_ guy who seems to be a good guy but just doesn't fit her."

"Will, what are you doing?"

William grabbed my hands to stop me from concentrating on his tie.

"I'm telling you to allow yourself real happiness for once." He said. "I haven't seen you as happy as you were when you were with George."

"George dumped me."

"And now he wants you back."

"How do you know that?"

"I've got surveillance tape in the pub." He told me. "Marco wanted to check in and see how you were doing and we heard the conversation between you, George and Timothy."

_Oh._

I took a step back, folding my arms over my chest.

"Timothy is great. He's a great guy but you two are just not supposed to be together."

I just shook my head and stepped closer to him again, continuing to tie his tie.

"Plus, Marco tells me every single night how he misses four, five and Lee." He said. "He also blames you that he lost them."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

That sounded like Marco.

"George and I are over." I said. "You and Marco both need to accept that."

I sighed.

"Timmy is Marco's brother. His _twin_ brother. Him wanting me to be with George, is pretty much stabbing his own brother in the back."

"It's not like Marco wants you to cheat on him. Neither of us want that. We just want you to think about who you'd rather be with." He said, looking in the mirror behind me. "But we'll focus on my wedding today, then we can always discuss you and your love life."

"We're not gonna discuss my love life." I said. "I need Timmy. I don't need George."

William chuckled, still looking at himself in the mirror while shaking his head.

"What?" I asked. "Why're you laughing?"

"Do you even hear yourself?" He asked. "Listen— when you love someone, you need them—"

"Exactly." I nodded. "I love him."

"Yeah, I know you do." He said. "But you're not _in_ love with him. If you were, you wouldn't _need_ him. You'd simply _want_ him."

I looked up at my brother who smiled in satisfaction at the way I froze in my actions of tying his tie.

As if he knew he had made me realise something.

"Shut up."

"Anyway—" he breathed, ignoring me. "...we ended up inviting George, Fred and Lee."

I tightened his tie before stepping back.

"Okay." I shrugged. "It's your wedding. I've already said I didn't mind."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Well, it was Marco who insisted."

I hummed, biting down on my tongue.

"Well, I'll get going." I told him. "I need to speak to Marco."

I left before he could say anything else. I walked all the way down the hallway to _my_ room where Marco was getting ready for the day with some help from Timothy.

Though when I opened the door, Timothy was nowhere to be seen and Marco stood bend over the dresser, a straw made out of paper held up to his nose and he looked at me as he was about to snort white powder.

"What the fuck?!" I hissed in a whisper, closing the door behind me.

Marco went to continue what he was doing, but I rushed over and grabbed the paper straw, curling it up in my hand before I brushed the white powder into my hand and threw it in the bin.

"Allie, no—" Marco exclaimed and I looked at him, seeing a pained expression on his face at the fact I just threw it out. "...that was expensive."

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" I asked and shoved him in the shoulder. "I though the heroin was a one-time thing and now you're doing cocaine?"

He looked at me for a moment, simply studying my expression before inhaling sharply.

"In my defence, getting married is very stressful—"

I shoved him again.

"Stop!" He exclaimed, pushing my hand away. "Don't push me!"

"Where is the rest?" I asked, patting his pockets but he kept pushing away my hands. "Do you have it on you? Or are you hiding it somewhere?"

"Allie, stop!" He said as I went through the room to look for it. "It was just something to calm my nerves."

I ignored him as I kept going through my room. He had to be hiding it somewhere and I needed to find it so I could get rid of it.

"Please stop."

I looked at him. He was leaning against the dresser, breathing quite heavily. He seemed to be pretty restless and fidgety.

"You're addicted." I stated. "You're getting married in half an hour, Marcus."

"I know." He said. "And I am fucking excited but I will not be able to focus on it if I don't get a fix."

_Oh my god._

I brought a hand up to my face, covering my mouth and Marco sighed, shaking his head.

"No... please don't cry." He said. "I'm sorry. I-I'll quit. I just need one fix to get through the day and then I'll quit."

Seeing how much he was hurting by not being able to do cocaine, broke something inside of me, and instead of continuing to argue, I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his back.

Then he was the one who started crying. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back, resting his head against mine.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean to get addicted to it."

I pulled my head back so I could look up at him.

"Listen, I'm gonna go get Will, okay?" I said but Marco shook his head. "Yes, I _am._ He can help calm you down."

"Fuck." Marco cursed. "I don't want him to be disappointed."

"He won't be." I assured him, hugging him again. "It's going to be alright, Marco. We're all here for you."


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing William did when he saw Marco, was to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

It hurt to see Marco in this state, needing drugs to get through his own wedding. I didn't know why it had gone this far.

It started out with weed and I had told him I thought it was a bad idea to constantly be high on it, but he told me he had it under control... and now he's an addict.

"We're gonna postpone the wedding." William said before looking at me. "Allie, can you go tell mum—"

"Postpone the wedding? We're not fucking postponing!" Marco said. "We're getting married _today!"_

"Babe, you're not well—"

"We're getting married!" Marco yelled. "And that's final!"

None of us said anything. Marco stared at the floor while Will and I looked at him.

"Okay." William nodded. "But we're postponing our honeymoon and you're going to rehab instead."

"Rehab?"

"Yeah, rehabilitation. You have a problem, Marco and you need help before it gets worse—"

"What do you mean; _worse?"_ Marco laughed, looking at William with his jaw tensed up. "Do you think I'll overdose, huh? Shoot up too much heroin or snort too much coke?"

Marco pushed himself off the dresser to stand in front of William. It looked like he was trying to scare him or try to push him away, but it didn't work.

"We're getting you help as soon as the wedding is over." Will said. "Go get some water in your face and I'll help you with your suit."

A small smile spread on Marco's face as he stepped back.

"Yessir."

He walked through the room and into the bathroom, and as soon as I heard the door lock, I realised something.

"Marco!" I yelled, rushing to the door, banging my fist against it. "Open the door!"

William had realised too what he was doing in that bathroom, and the two of us were banging on the door, trying to get him to open it.

"Do you have your wand?" I asked Will. "I left mine with Timmy."

"No— I uh... mum has mine."

"Fuck!" I cursed. "Right... try to get him to come out here. I'll find my wand."

I left the bedroom, hurrying down the hallway. I needed to find Timmy so he could give me my wand back.

"Allie!" An enthusiastic voice shouted as I walked towards the garden. I stopped in my tracks and spun around to see two familiar faces.

"Oh, hi." I breathed, opening my arms to hug Fred back when he wrapped his arms around me.

"How are you?" He asked, pulling away again to look at me. "You look good."

I smiled.

"Thanks, so do you." I smiled at him. "I have to find Timothy but I'll see you later and we can catch up."

I patted his chest and glanced towards George before I continued out into the garden.

Lee was out here, talking to a few people from school.

I paused and looked around, letting out a heavy breath as I searched for Timothy. I closed my fists by my side, trying to calm myself down, but right now I was really worrying about Marco and we needed to get access to the bathroom as soon as possible.

He had probably already taken something. I hated this. I hated that I hadn't done something — let it get _this_ much out of hand. I thought he had it under control and I thought it was only weed.

I located Timothy, watching the crowd in silence, his arms folded over his chest. I hurried over to him and he looked at me as I rested my arm on his shoulder.

"I need my wand." I said, trying to be quiet.

"You— are you okay?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my back.

"I just need my wand."

"Okay." He nodded, finding it in his pocket. He handed it over and I pecked his lips before turning to walk inside, but I paused for a moment when I saw George stare directly at us while Fred approached Lee. "What's he doing here?"

I looked at Timothy as he asked.

"Will and Marco ended up inviting them." I said. "I'll see you at the ceremony, yeah? I just need to help Marco with a problem he's come across."

Timothy nodded and grasped my jaw so kiss me a little more passionately before letting me go back inside.

I hurried past George who was now looking down at his shoes, hands shoved into his pockets but I couldn't help but notice the way he let out a heavy breath the moment I passed him.

I hurried back upstairs and into my room where Marco was still locked in the bathroom as Will tried to get him to come out.

"Move." I told Will, pointing my wand at the door. He moved back to stand next to me, folding his arms. _"Alohomora."_

The door unlocked and William had pushed it open before Marco could lock it again. I pocketed my wand, joining them in the bathroom, sighing at that I saw.

Marco was gripping the edges of the sink, eyes closed.

On the sink was the remains of a powder line along with a bag of even more white powder.

"I'm okay now." He breathed, straightened up. He ran his thumb underneath his nose, sniffing once before he turned towards us. "Will, let's get married!"

He went to grab his bag of powder, but I pointed my wand at it and said one word that made it dissolve into thin air.

Marco looked at me but he didn't say anything.

"We're not getting married today." William shook his head. "You stay here with Allie and I go get your mum—"

"What? No!" Marco protested. "William, I— I want us to get married. I wanna me married to you, I—"

"We are not getting married when you are fucking high!" William yelled. "Your health is more important than a wedding. We can always get married when you're out of rehab... and better."

Will left the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and Marco slowly slid down the sink until he sat on the floor.

He sighed, leaning his head back as a son escaped his lips.

"I'm sorry." He said in a whisper. I sighed and joined him on the floor, sitting next to him. "I didn't mean for it to get this far, but he's been more involved in my life after we finished school and I can't be near him without getting flashbacks."

"Who?" I asked, taking Marco's hand and lacing our fingers together.

"My uncle." He told me. "And it's even worse that he's here at the wedding. I couldn't tell William I didn't want him here because I don't— he doesn't know."

I felt my heart skip a beat at how broken he sounded. I didn't know what he was talking about, but it seemed that it had something to do with why he was doing drugs.

"Do you want to tell me what your uncle did?" I asked, wrapping my free hand around his arm, scooting myself closer to him. "Timothy told me he had problems with drugs himself when you were kids and that he always took it out on you. 'S that why?"

He nodded slowly before he moved away and let go of my hand, laying down instead, his head resting on my lap.

I ran my fingers through his hair as he slowly started crying.

"He did it every time." He sobbed. "Every time he was on drugs, he would hurt me and he wouldn't stop until he was satisfied."

I paused for a moment but then continued to brush my fingers through his hair. I needed to just be there for him, no matter what he was going to tell me.

"I've never told anyone. I've never even said it out loud to myself." He said. "He'd use _me,_ his own nephew for his own pleasure and it went on for years. I thought it was normal until fifth year when we watched that film about a girl being touched by her father..."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing his arm while I kept running my fingers through his hair.

There was a lump in my throat and a horrible feeling in my stomach. My thoughts were racing and in that moment, I wished I could take away all of his pain and carry it myself.

"You can't tell Will." He whispered. "He'll never look at me the same."


	9. Chapter 9

_What a day._

The wedding never happened. Almost everyone had gone home — only the closest friends and family were left behind to clean up everything.

William along with my mum and Marco's parents had left with Marco to get him checked into a rehabilitation centre in London.

It was a three-month stay where they go through twelve steps to help him get better.

Before they left, I hugged him as tight as I could, and told him that everything was going to be okay.

I had managed to convince him to tell William, because they _are_ engaged, and William completely snapped.

Marco's uncle is now at St. Mungos, getting checked out in a hospital bed and he's also been kicked out of their family, by both Marco's grandparents but also Marco's dad who's the uncles brother.

Marco's uncle is not pressing charges against William, probably because he's scared of what he did being slipped to the ministry.

I'm sitting on the steps in the garden — the steps that leads up to the garden doors.

A few people were cleaning up in the garden — that being Grayson, Eleanor, Charlotte and Robin.

I heard footsteps behind me, and then someone sat down next to me on the steps. I looked at the person but looked away again when I saw George.

He didn't say anything. He simply sat next to me, his arms resting over his bend knees and his hands folded.

I didn't say anything either. I looked down at the ground, taking a deep breath as I once again saw Marco's face in my head, along with some of the things he said before he left to go to rehab.

_"I know you say you're happy, but I don't buy that. I don't think you've been truly happy since he left."_

It pains me. He's struggling, yet he's still thinking about me and my love life. He's too good for this world and it hurts knowing that someone hurt him and that he's in so much pain.

"Are you okay?" George asked after a while, gently nudging me with his elbow.

"No." I shook my head and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose as I started crying.

I rested my head on his shoulder and felt him hesitate before he wrapped his arm around me to comfort me.

_God he smells amazing._

George rested his head against mine as his hand played with my hair and moved it out of my face.

"He's gonna be okay." He assured me, caressing my cheek and when I noticed how comfortable and relaxed it made me feel, I also realised how wrong it was.

I sat up straight, moving away from George for a moment before I stood up.

I hurried inside to find Timothy but when I couldn't see him anywhere, I decided to ask Fred who was helping put away plates.

"Hey." I said, approaching him. He looked at me and smiled as he continued. "Have you seen Timothy anywhere? I need to speak to him."

"No... didn't he go with Marco—"

I shook my head.

"He stayed back because of Robin." I said with a sigh.

"Timothy left." Lee commented as he entered the dining room. "Said something about being tired so he went home."

_When he was asked to stay with his little brother..._

"Okay." I nodded. "Thanks... uh, can you two look after Robin for a moment? I need to go speak to Timothy and then I'll be back."

"Of course." Lee nodded while Fred nodded as well, and I thanked the both of them before grabbing my wand, apparating myself straight into the hallway of Timothy's flat.

"Timmy?!" I called, walking into the living room to see if he was there. It was empty, so I continued around the flat and when I didn't find him, I lastly decided to check his bedroom.

I opened the door and then I just froze. Beatrice Haywood was sitting on the desk, fully clothed with a skirt on and Timothy had been fucking her, wearing his clothes but his trousers unzipped and his fucking dick just simply pulled out.

I folded my arms as I leaned against the doorframe. They both looked at me, and then Beatrice pushed him away, jumping down from the desk while Timothy closed his trousers while sighing.

"So our relationship is inclusive?" I asked him. I didn't even feel sad about it, just pissed.

Beatrice mumbled an apology to me as she hurried out, and a moment later, the front door slammed.

"Allie—"

"What the fuck." I laughed, shaking my head. "Apparently I don't know you. The Timothy I knew at school, the Timothy who's Marco's brother, would _never_ cheat on his girlfriend."

He didn't say anything. He simply looked at me while shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"The worst part is that your brother is going to rehab for three months, you just learned what your uncle _really_ did to him and the first thing you do is leave with Haywood, fuck her on your desk..." I shook my head again. "I should've dumped you a long time ago. We're over."

As I left the flat, Timothy came running after me.

"Wait, Allie!" He called, following me down the stairs. "Don't— I can explain... please just listen to me!"

"Listen to you?!" I laughed. "And I would do that _why?"_

"Allie—"

"I am _done_ listening when guys screw me over!" I exclaimed. "Why should _I_ have to listen when you're the ones messing up!"

As I walked outside, I felt him grab my wrist, forcing me to turn around.

"Why is it that most guys treat us like absolute crap?" I asked. "Treat us like we're fucking objects with no feelings whatsoever?"

"You're overreacting—"

"I'm overreacting?!" I yelled, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "I just caught you fucking someone else!"

"I know." He sighed. "But it's not better than what you're doing."

I took a step back, folding my arms over my chest.

"And what am I doing exactly?"

"You've been imagining _him_ every time we have sex!" He yelled.

"Oh my god!" I laughed. "That's not even true!"

I turned around and continued walking. I don't know why I didn't just apparate but that was the last thing on my mind right now.

"You know what?!" I turned around, looking at him. "George came to me and told me he missed me and you know what I did? I told him I was in a relationship, because I'd never cheat on you! That was a _big_ mistake. He treated me better than you ever could."

Timothy walked towards me but I grabbed my wand and disapparated from the street.

I landed right back in the dining room where Fred and Lee were still helping each other with the plates.

"Hey." Fred smiled. "How did it go?"

I shrugged.

"I'm now single."

The two looked at each other while I turned around and marched out to the stairs. George was still sitting there, resting his head in his hand.

I sighed and sat down next to him which made him look at me.

"You hurt me." I said as I took off the red blazer I was wearing. Like I had said, I wanted to wear a suit so I was wearing a red suit with a white top underneath that shows my cleavage.

I folded the blazer before resting it in my lap.

"I know."

"I gave you a chance to take me back." I continued. "And then you showed up after eight months and decide that you want me."

"I've always wanted you." He told me. "But I was too scared that I'd always remind you of the things you heard me say."

I inhaled sharply and looked up at the sky to try and not start bawling.

"Morning has ever hurt me more than hearing you call me fat and disgusting." I said. " _But_ that wasn't you and I know that. I don't blame you for any of those things because you were being controlled and you'd never say those things. Then you took the decision to break us up because you felt guilty."

"Allie—"

"We could've talked about it and worked it out together." I said. "We could've stayed together and continued being happy."

I ran a hand over my face.

"William was right. I love Timothy but I'm not in love with him." I said, looking at him again. "I've never been in love with anyone but you and I don't think I'll ever be able to love anyone as much as I love you."

He reached for my hand, but I wrapped my arms around myself so he couldn't hold it.

"Timothy cheated on me." I sighed. "I just broke up with him."

I looked at him again.

"But I'm not ready to try this again with you."


	10. Chapter 10

_I stared up at George as he stood in front of me._

_He was leaning against the doorframe with his arm resting above his head, his other hand pushing some of my hair behind my ear._

_"Give me a chance." He said softly. "Let me prove to you that I'm worth it."_

_He's making it so difficult._

_He cupped my face with his hand, his thumb running across my bottom lip, tugging at it slightly._

_"I miss you."_

_His eyes flicked back up to my eyes at my words, and he leaned down, kissing me._

I woke up with a jolt, looking around in confusion when I realised I was sitting against a brick wall in an alleyway somewhere in London.

Then I felt the headache hit me, and memories from last night hit me. I had left my mum's house after the talk with George. I was still wearing my red suit with my white top and my red heels as I walked into a bar and got myself drunk.

That's all I remember.

Somehow, I ended up in a bloody alleyway and fell asleep until the next day, because the sun was now up and there was traffic.

_That wedding did not go as expected._

With a soft groan, I got off the ground and brushed the dirty off my red trousers.

The red was a cherry red and Marco had helped me pick it out. He said I look hot in it and honestly, I have to agree with him.

I took off the blazer to brush the back of it before I took it on again, then I looked around to see if I had any stuff on the ground, but I didn't.

_Where's my wand?_

"Oh fuck." I sighed, throwing my head back for a moment before I started walking.

I had no idea where I was and I didn't have my wand and even though I was practising, I hadn't learned how to apparate without my wand yet.

_The walk of shame._

That's what this felt like. Trying to find my way home in a red suit, high heels and a hangover from drinking last night after my best friend went to rehab.

Eventually I did manage to find my way home. I sloppily made my way up the stairs, only to realise I didn't have my key.

I groaned and knocked on the door, hoping that Will was home and not in the leaky cauldron because I didn't want to walk down the stairs and all away across the street again.

I kept knocking on the door, leaning against the doorframe, my eyes closed.

When the door opened, I stumbled through without opening my eyes, ending up on the floor as I lost my balance.

"Where have you been?"

As I had rolled onto my back, I quickly opened my eyes, seeing George closed the door. His voice wasn't rough, just soft and concerned.

"Huh?" I sat up and looked around. "Did I— no... this is where I live. Why are you—"

I squinted my eyes at him as he crouched down and wrapped his arm around my back, helping me up.

Immediately my knees gave in and as I went straight to the floor again, George wrapped his other arm under my knee and lifted me up, carrying me to the kitchen where he put me on the counter.

"What are you doing in my flat?" I asked softly, closing my eyes. The headache was way too intense and the light was killing me.

"I helped William home last night when he came back from helping get Marco checked in at rehab." he told me. "There was a lot of things he needed to bring back here so I decided to help him, and I then offered to stay while he got some sleep. You hadn't come home and he didn't know where you were so I also promised to stay until you got back so he could get some work done."

"Oh..." I mumbled. "I need, can you help me with—"

I motioned towards my heels and George immediately grabbed around my ankle, lifting my foot to undo the strap around the ankle, pulling off the heel. He gently put it on the floor before doing the same with the other.

"Oh thank fuck." I breathed. "That feels good."

"You okay?" He asked and placed his hands on either side of my thighs while I leaned back on my hands.

"I think I got a bit too drunk." I said and yawned, covering my mouth. "I fell asleep in an alleyway."

"You did?" He asked. "That doesn't sound very safe."

I shrugged.

"I don't even remember it." I said. "But my head is absolutely killing me. Can you please shut the curtains?"

George hummed as he walked around the kitchen island and closed the curtains.

I sighed with relief.

"Thanks." I breathed. "That's even better than an orgasm."

When George came back around to where I sat, he had a glass of water with him, handing it to me.

"Drink."

I looked at him as I took the glass, and continued to look at him as I drank all of it.

"You've always been nice to me." I said and put down the glass. "I don't deserve that."

"Why do you say that?"

I shrugged and slid off the kitchen counter, leaning against it instead.

"I just don't think I'm the person to waste your kindness on." I said, pushing myself away from the counter and closer to him. "I know I said I'm not ready to try again with you... but I still want to be your friend."

George didn't say anything. He just looked at me, waiting to see if I had anything else to say.

"Do you think that could work?" I asked. "Us being friends?"

He shook his head with a small chuckle.

"No." He told me. "I don't— but I'll take it if it means I can still have you in my life."

I smiled softly, taking another step towards him.

"Can I hug you?"

"Of course." He responded quickly and hugged me back when I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I couldn't quite explain how it felt.

I hadn't hugged him or been this close to him for months and I felt more comfortable than I had for a long time.

Plus, he smelled amazing like always.

When I slowly pulled out of the hug, we looked at each other, our eyes meeting and it felt like everything slowed down.

_Oh shit._

"I need to get dressed." I said in a whisper and let go of him while he let go of me as well. "I don't want to miss a day of work and leave Will all alone with it."

George nodded.

"I'll go tell him you're back." He smiled softly at me and I waited until he left the flat before I walked into my room and closed the door behind me.

With a sigh, I pulled off my blazer and threw it over the back of the chair before pushing down the trousers as well. I got rid of the top, my underwear too.

I found one of my towels and wrapped it around my body, then found myself some new clothes before walking out and into the bathroom.

After my shower, I got dressed in a pair of loose jeans with holes by the knees and a black long-sleeved turtleneck that I tucked into the jeans. I looped a black belt through the belt loops in my jeans and after drying my hair, I pulled it into a bun.

_Now I was ready to go on with my day and act like I'm not hungover._

As I walked through the door to the leaky cauldron, I walked straight behind the bar as Will and George were talking.

"I'm sorry I'm—"

"Where the fuck have you been?" Will asked. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? You didn't come home and then George here is telling me that you got drunk and fell asleep in an alleyway? You could've gotten hurt! Someone could've—"

He took a deep breath and handed me the towel he was holding.

"I'm taking a break." He said. "Dry the glasses and take orders. Remember the job interviews I held last month? Yeah, I hired Johnson from school. She's gonna be as waitress and I want _you_ to just focus on the bar, alright?"

I nodded, deciding not to comment on the at he was speaking to me. He was not just my brother, he was also my boss — and he must feel horrible after what happened with Marco yesterday, and the fact that he didn't get married like he had been so excited for.

"Great." He breathed, leaving the bar before continuing to leave the building. I then turned to George.

"I uh— Should I not have told him about the alleyway?"

I shrugged and grabbed a glass so I could dry it.

"It's okay." I assured him. "I was probably going to tell him myself."


	11. Chapter 11

"Allie!"

_Oh no, not now._

He walked straight up to the bar, ignoring George as he placed his hands flat down against the surface, looking at me while I made a drink for a costumer.

"We need to speak."

"Hi Timothy." I smiled. "What can I help you with? A brandy? Perhaps some dragon scale?"

"Listen... I'm sorry about—"

"A Sherry?" I cut him off. "No? Well then get away from the bar. You're hogging a seat."

He looked at me but didn't move. I put the lid on the shaker before picking it up to shake the drink.

"Allie, _please."_ Timothy begged. "I know this isn't an excuse, but I wanted to get back at you for still loving this dipshit."

He gestured towards George who simply raised his eyes, shook his head with a small scoff as he looked down at the glass of firewhisky I had gotten him.

"And I realise that was stupid." Timothy continued while I took the lid off the shaker, putting ice in a glass before pouring the drink into it. "I regret it and—"

"You regret it?" I asked, glancing at him before I walked to the other end of the bar, smiling at the costumer as I gave him his drink.

Then I walked back to the middle where George and Timothy were.

"You slept with another girl." I said, placing my hands on the bar to lean against it while I looked at Timothy. "The same girl my brother dated for a short moment in his last year but that's besides the point—"

"As I said; I wanted to get back at you... but I realise now I should've just told you how it made me feel." He said. "I've liked you for years and you have absolutely no idea what it feels like to be in love with someone who wants someone else."

I hummed and pulled out my nice from under the bar, stabbing the wood of it, right next to Timothy's hand.

"Are you trying to guilt trip me, _Timmy?"_ I asked. "Because it's not working. No one deserves to be cheated on. _I_ don't deserve to be cheated on."

Timothy stares at the knife without removing his hand.

"Do you like my new knife?" I asked him. "It's blue. I think it fits me _much_ better than pink... wouldn't you agree?"

He didn't respond. He simply tapped his fingers against the bar before he stepped back, turned around and left the leaky cauldron.

"Allie!" I heard Will call as he entered at the same time. "Stop stabbing my bar!"

I rolled my head, pulling the knife out of the wood before putting it back down under the bar. Then I looked at George who was watching me with a smile.

"What?"

He shrugged.

"Nothing. I'm just happy to see that you're still keeping everyone on their toes around you." He said. "And that you still carry a knife."

I hummed softly.

"Hey, don't you have a shop to get back to?" I asked. "Hopefully you aren't letting Fred run it all by himself."

George looked at my eyes as he brought his glass up to his lips and took a sip.

"I'd much rather stay here and chat with you." He said cheekily. "I've missed you."

As he spoke, Angie approached the bar, placing the tray of dirty plates on top, her arm resting over it.

"I hope you're giving her some space, Weasley." She told him. "Girl needs her alone time before she thinks about going into a relationship. Yet alone a relationship with her ex-boyfriend."

I chuckled at her words and George simply lifted the glass again in a _'cheers'_ motion before downing the rest of it.

It had been a few weeks since Marco was sent to rehab. Seeing as Angie was now working here, we had gotten to know a lot which we never really got the chance for in school.

George would also come in here and order something just so he could sit at the bar and talk to me.

"I'll be on my way then." George grinned and got out of the seat while Angie winked at me before going to the kitchen with the dishes. He looked at me with a wide smile and leaned over the bar. "You look really pretty behind the bar."

I tilted my head, feeling the biggest need to kiss him, but I needed to control myself.

Angie was right. I needed some time as single before rushing back into it with George.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" I asked, bopping his nose. "Get back to your brother before he starts to wonder if I've killed you."

He hummed, grabbing the towel from my shoulder, wrapping it around the back of my neck to pull me closer.

"I wouldn't mind getting murdered if you were my murderer." He said. I couldn't help but notice how he glanced at my lips before backing up.

He saluted me, then spun around and walked out into the alley to access Diagon Alley.

"He's such a flirt, huh?" Angie approached the bar again after dropping off the dishes in the kitchen.

"Always has been." I nodded. "But do you notice anything different about him? He seems more confident."

"He took his time to heal." She told me. "I kept in touch with them after school and he was really hurting after what happened. He had to work on himself and realise that what happened wasn't on him."

I smiled, loving that he was doing better. I had healed too, but now I just needed to get over this thing with Timothy.

Though I couldn't help but feel excited about the day I felt completely ready to get back with George. I knew he was waiting patiently while flirting with me, but sometimes I'd think about all our moments together.

When he got up on the table in the great hall and announced his feelings for me in front of everyone.

Or the time where he fucked me so hard in the library that by the next morning, Marco had to carry me to the great hall.

"You're thinking about shagging him, aren't you?" Angie caught my attention. She was leaning on the bar, smiling at me like she knew exactly what was on my mind.

"Huh?"

"You're biting your lip and staring at the door he just left through." She pointed out, making me chuckle.

"Can you blame me?" I shrugged. "I dated him for eleven months and he's hot as hell."

"I can't disagree on that." She breathed, looking towards the door. "Plus... he's _huge."_

I raised my eyebrows as my jaw dropped, and then I started laughing while giving a small laugh.

"Right." Angie said, straightening up when she saw costumers waving her over. "I need to go take orders before they decide to complain to your brother."

"Good luck." I said, glancing at the costumers that were still waving at her to get her attention. "They're always rude as fuck when they come in."

"Seriously?" She groaned, making a face before she put on a fake smile, approaching them.

I turned to look at Will as he entered the bar to restock some of the bottles.

"Hey, when can we visit Marco?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip.

"On Saturday it's been two weeks." He told me. "Then he's allowed to have visitors."

William glanced at me.

"Why do you look so happy?" He asked with a frown. "If you're that happy after seeing him, then get back together with him."

My fave dropped.

"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes. "We'll get back together when times right."

"Yeah?" He asked. "And when's that? We all know you want to jump him every time you see him. You're just a coward."

_And the award for best big brother goes to..._

"I'm a coward?" I scoffed. "You're the guy who—"

_I have nothing..._

William rested a hand on the bar and looked at me with raised eyebrows, his other hand resting on his hip, mimicking my posture.

"I have two reasons, right?" He held up one finger. "One; you're working _here._ You're working _my_ dream because you're too scared working your own. You love staying your opinions and fighting for equality, you even wanted to open up your own newspaper in Diagon Alley, yet here you are."

"Will—"

"And two—" he held up a second finger. "...you and your ex-boyfriend keep flirting with each other and you technically act like you're back together, but you're too scared to make it official because you're scared he'll leave you again."

After looking at him for a moment, I pulled the towel off from around my neck and threw it at him, making him laugh.

"I'm taking a break." I said. "And I'm bringing my knife so that I can carve into the wall how much I hate William Silverberry."


	12. Chapter 12

I had missed Marco.

I had missed hugging him, missed the comfort of it, and the way he smelled. Marco was my best friend — my home and he was one of the few guys I could always find comfort with.

"Alright, babe." Marco chuckled, patting my back. "You can let go now. It's been five minutes."

"I've missed you." I whispered, holding back my tears of excitement but when I sniffed, Marco gently pushed me away to look at me.

"Are you crying right now?"

"Crying?" I scoffed. " _Me?_ Crying? I don't cry."

Marco chuckled and cupped my face to get a proper look at me before hugging me again.

"I've missed you too." He said. "But I've only been here for two weeks and I still have two and a half month left thanks to your lovely brother over there."

I pulled out of the hug and looked at William while I sat down next to him, Marco taking a seat across from us.

"Marco, you agreed that rehab was the best solution." William said.

"I did." He nodded. "That it was the best solution, not that I _actually_ wanted to be locked up in a rehabilitation facility full of muggles."

"You signed the papers yourself." William commented. "You signed yourself in. Don't blame me. I wanted to get married and you did the drugs."

There was silence for a moment before Marco and William both laughed.

"But it's good seeing you." William smiled. "You look good."

"Yeah? Should've seen me four days ago. Ten days of withdrawal." He said, shaking his head. "It was absolutely horrible. I was always vomiting, I'd have nightmares and wake up shaking, throw up some more... I couldn't even masturbate because I couldn't get myself turned on."

_Oh god..._

"The appetite for coke also increased." He said before leaning over the table, lowering his voice into a whisper. "Talking about coke... I have this dealer that hangs around Hyde park—"

"Marco we're not smuggling drugs in here." William said, causing Marco to laugh.

"I'm joking!" He said, leaning back in his chair. "No... I'm doing good. The withdrawal was horrible but I'm getting therapy multiple times a week both because of the drugs problem but also because of the thing that caused it."

I couldn't help but smile. He seemed way happier even though he had only been clean for two weeks.

"Muggles are so boring." Marco said. "It's hilarious. They're also really narrow minded. This guy is in here because he saw a flying car above London back in ninety-two and his parents thought it was because of the drugs so he was put here and ever since, every time he gets out, he takes drugs and he goes straight back in here."

_A flying car?_

"Didn't Ron and Harry arrive way too late in a flying car at the start of their second year?" I asked. "I mean, it was in the daily prophet and everything. They were seen by muggles."

"But the ministry obliviated all the witnesses." William said, in which I shrugged.

"Apparently not. Poor guy."

"Poor guy? The dude stole my cheese sandwich!" Marco said. "I hate him."

"You don't even like cheese." William said. "A few months ago and I accidentally gave you _my_ cheese sandwich, you literally threw it in my face and locked yourself in our bedroom."

_I remember that._

He threw a prober tantrum about that. Mostly, he was mad because he thought William didn't know that _very_ important fact about his dislike to cheese.

"Anyway—" Marco breathed. "How are you two?"

"Allie is torturing herself." William said, making me frown. "Flirts with George but won't do anything about it."

"Cause I'm not ready for a relationship!" I exclaimed. "Stop bothering me about it just because you miss him!"

"I don't—"

"Wait a minute." Marco said. "Scroll back... what happened to Timothy? My brother? Your boyfriend with my face."

_Oh..._

"Yeah, they broke up." William once again spoke for me. "She won't tell me."

"Do you mind?" I asked in annoyance. "I have a voice. Stop speaking for me."

William looked at me and held up his hands in surrender before gesturing for me to explain it.

"I caught him with Beatrice Haywood the same night you went to rehab." I said. "I—"

"Wait what?!" William sat up straight. "You didn't tell me that—"

"Timothy cheated on you?" Marco asked. "I am going to beat his pathetic arse when I get out of here."

"Sure." I breathed. "Anyway... George and I are now friends and—"

"Friends with benefits?"

"No—"

"Then what's the point?" He shrugged. "You know why I tried to stop you and Timothy every time you were going to be alone? Because I don't want you having sex with anyone but George."

_That's the weirdest thing I've heard for a long time._

"I can't decide for myself who I have sex with?"

"No." Marco shook his head. "That's exactly what you cannot do. Now, I expect that by the next time you two come to visit, you bring George with you and you can be able to tell me that you've shagged."

"I hate you sometimes." I breathed. "You know that?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "I know."

I looked at him for a moment, then realised I had brought something for him.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out the cassette tape I had made for him.

"Here." I said, placing it on the table. "I went down here a few days ago to ask if it was possible to bring some music for you and they said that I could bring you a cassette tape as long as there is no headphones because headphones have wires. Anyway, it's all of your favourite songs to keep you company when you're bored."

Marco picked it up and turned it over in his hand to look at the list of songs, and then he teared up.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "Don't cry. You're embarrassing me."

Instead, he laughed and got up to hug the life out of me.

"Thank you." He said, wiping the invisible fear of his cheek before he smacked me in the head.

"Why—"

"That's because I love you." He said, sinking back into his chair while I glared at him as I brushed my hand over the back of my head where he hit me. "But also for letting him put me in this place."

He motioned towards William whom I exchanged a glance with before we looked at Marco again.

"For the last time; you signed yourself in."

"And I thought that meant I could sign myself out again!" Marco told Will. "But apparently i either have to be here for the three months or until my therapist says I'm no longer a danger for my addiction."

He made quotation marks at the mention of addiction, while he rolled his eyes, and that's when I realised how difficult he was having it with himself.

He was joking around to hide the fact that he was insecure about the drug addiction. Maybe he hadn't fully accepted that he had an issue or that it can be called an addiction.

"Would it help if we took a trip when you're out again?" I asked. "We can go to the states like you've always wanted."

He chuckled softly, nodding while he took the cassette tape again, studying it.

"I'm sorry my brother cheated on you." He said softly before looking at Will. "And I'm sorry I ruined our wedding."

"Marco—"

"Mr Partridge." A nurse approached the table. "Visiting hours are over. Let's get you back to the common room."

Marco nodded and looked at us again.

"They've got common rooms here." He grinned, standing up as we did the same. He hugged us both before giving Will a kiss. "Visit me next week? I'm lonely."

We both agreed before he was escorted out of the visiting room, leaving William and I looking in his direction.

"Rehab was the right thing to do, right?" I asked, playing with the rings on my fingers.

"It was." William said, wrapping his arm around me to pull me in for a hug. "He'll be okay."


	13. Chapter 13

"Allie! Breakfast!"

I turned over in my bed, glancing at the clock on my nightstand before I groaned loudly into my pillow, wanting to slap William for waking me up.

It was Sunday, a week and a day since we visited Marco. We were going to visit him again next week and we were bringing George.

It was eight o'clock and seeing as it was the weekend, I would want to be asleep right now, but my dear brother just had to wake me up.

"Fuck!" I screamed into my pillow, thrashing around in my bed before finally getting up.

_I'm not a morning person._

I got myself dressed, wearing simply some sweatpants and a jumper, pulling my hair into a messy ponytail before walking out of the room.

"William, I swear to Merlin, to Rowena Ravenclaw, to Godric Gryffindor, to Helga Hufflepuff and to bloody Salazar Slytherin that if you woke me up _simply_ for some breakfast at eight o'clock in the morning, I will personally castrate— ahhh!"

I stopped quickly when I saw the pair of identical twins sit at the table in the kitchen with Will.

I looked around.

_There's no breakfast._

"Yeah, I went and got the clones." William said as he picked up his cup of tea and took a sip.

"Clones?" Fred asked. "Isn't your fiancé an identical twin?"

Will shrugged.

"That's different."

_How?_

"I can't see properly right now." I announced. "I need my glasses. Bye."

I spun around, hurrying back into my room, stubbing my toe on the corner of my bed and a second later, I was on the floor, holding my foot to soothe my toe.

After a while of just sitting on the floor, I got up, found my glasses and put them in before I let my hair down, brushed it through and put it up again.

Then I walked back out into the kitchen with my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants.

I stopped in the doorway, staring at George and Fred who both looked at me with their cheeky grins.

"Alright..." I breathed. "...I'm kinda lost right now so—"

"Oh? Need help finding your way home?" George asked.

"Oh, okay." I laughed. "You know, _George..._ I have something I need to show you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I pulled my left hand out of my pocket and looked at the back of it, smiling.

Then I turned it around, dropped my expression and put down all of my fingers except from the middle finger, and as I gasped dramatically, George laughed.

"Allie, this is an intervention." William said. "And I'm firing you."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head.

"You're not firing me."

"I _am_ firing you." He nodded. "And not only are these two here for an intervention, but also as witnesses because I know you're gonna want to kill me."

"You're firing me?!" I exclaimed. "I'm a great bartender!"

"Allie, let me expla—"

"You think you can find a better bartender than me?" I asked. "Are _you_ gonna take on all of that responsibility? You know what... I'm gonna get my knife, I'll slice your throat and I know for a fact that both George _and_ Fred are gonna help me dissolve your body. You want to know how I'm gonna dissolve your body? Pull out all of your teeth, dissolve your body in acid and put your teeth in one of those meat chopper machines and spread the remains on a field. No one will ever find out what happened or who did it, and I'll just happily live on with my life without having lost my job."

_Maybe I took it a little too far._

"And dad sent _me_ to therapy." He scoffed, taking another sip of his tea. "I'm not firing you because you're terrible. I'm firing you to give you the push you need to go make your dream come true."

"And we have something for you." George said, standing up and walking towards me. "Something we want to give you."

I folded my arms over my chest.

"I have something I want to give you too." I said. " _Chlamydia."_

_I did not just say that._

"Why did I say that, you might ask." I said while George pushed his hands into his pockets, watching me in amusement. "I don't have chlamydia in case you're wondering and I don't want to give it to you because that would mean sex and I— I mean we have already had sex _loads_ of time but—"

I sighed at my own rambling, covering my face in embarrassment.

"Alright." William commented. "I'm gonna go see if there's anything to do at the leaky cauldron before work tomorrow. Fred, come with me... I need your help and that way, we can leave those two alone."

I rolled my eyes at my brother, staring at the floor without saying anything and trying not to look at George while William and Fred left.

"Can you believe they've had sex with the same person?" I then asked as the door slammed shut. I looked up at George, pushing my hands king my pockets while swaying back and forth on my toes.

George raised his eyebrows in question.

"Lee." I said. "I mean... William and Marco had a threesome with him, right? And Fred's dating him."

"Oh." He nodded slowly. "Yeah."

He pulled his right hand out of his pocket, a keychain placed around his index finger, two keys dangling off of it.

"What's that?"

"Keys."

"Why thank you very much Sherlock Holmes."

George laughed softly and grabbed my hand to pull it out of my pocket. He opened my hand, placed the keys in my palm, then closed my fingers over them.

"They're to this building in Diagon Alley." He told me. "Not far from the shop. It was pretty expensive but it's worth it if it means you get to do what you love."

_What..._

"There's the reception right when you walk in, followed by a hallway with six offices in total, three on each side. A staircase leading up to the first floor where the conference room and the break room is at. Oh, and there is a bathroom on each floor."

"No you didn't." I whispered, staring at him in shock.

"But if you don't want it, that's alright." He said. "I can sell it again. I just wanted to do something for you after you gave us the money for our shop and I—"

Due to the overwhelming excitement I felt, I threw my arms around his neck, and the first thing I thought to do, was to press my lips to his.

George was taken back and as soon as I realised what I was doing, I stepped back, covering my mouth with my hand.

We stared at each other, none of us saying anything, but I could feel how much I had missed that. Missed kissing him and I just fucking did that after telling him I wasn't ready.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." I spoke, lowering my hand. "I didn't think— I didn't mean to—"

George cut me off by taking one large step towards me, grasping my jaw before he reconnected our lips and I immediately kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck as the keys hung around my index finger.

He placed his free hand on my hips, backing me up against the counter before lifting me up and placing me on it.

The kiss was rough and heated. We had both missed each other so much and it was like we were trying to get all the kissing we had missed out in _one._

Our teeth clashed and our tongues met while I ran one hand up the nape of his neck and into his hair, tugging him closer with my other hand.

Again, my mind went back to the boathouse when we had our very first kiss.

"Wait—" I breathed, pushing him away. He ran his hand through his hair, staring at me as we both breathed heavily.

"I'm sorry." He said. "That was— it was a bad idea."

"Yeah." I agreed as I kept looking at him while he looked towards the wall, placing his hands on his hips.

I mentally cursed as I hung my head low, staring at the floor.

"It's just— _fuck."_ I breathed. "I'm really sorry that I kissed you first."

"No, Allie... it's fine." He assured me. "It just happened and I know you're not ready for us to get back together."

I closed my eyes, gulping.

"It's just that... when you walked into the leaky cauldron when I was washing off the tables... when you told me you needed me—" I shook my head and looked at him again. "... I don't know what to think about that because _I_ needed _you_ and you still left me."

George looked at me with a sigh as he walked closer to me.

"I'm sorry—"

"But uh—" I held up the keys and smiled at him. "This really means a lot. I'll pay you back."

"No you won't." He shook his head. "You gave us money for the shop so we bought you your own building where you can slowly build your own newspaper."


	14. Chapter 14

"So... you like it?" George asked as I walked back downstairs after checking out the first floor of the building that he and Fred bought me.

The two stood next to each other, smiling at me while I walked down the stairs.

"No."

"No?!" Fred exclaimed while George smiled, knowing me like the back of his hand — knowing that I was joking. "I— we spend so much— you—"

"Freddie." I laughed. "I'm joking, alright? I love it. It's perfect."

When I reached the ground floor again, I looked around, smiling widely.

"Yeah, I can see this." I nodded. "It'll take some years to fully get it up and running but that's just how it is with every business like this, but it's going to be great. Some chairs and sofas over there, some paintings or drawings to keep people occupied if they're bored. Maybe I can get Will to paint some— draw some..."

When I turned back towards them, I frowned as I just got to see Fred leave through the door quickly, leaving me with George who was simply smiling at me as if he was up to something.

"What–"

"I told him I'd clean up the shop tomorrow by myself if he left us alone."

I hummed, moving my hands behind my back, folding them there while I looked at George.

"You think you're really clever, don't you?"

He shrugged, slowly walking over to the reception counter to lean on it while looking at me as I stood a good couple of feet on the other side of it.

_"Maybe."_

The cheeky way he looked at me, made me roll my eyes, but I couldn't hide the smile on my face even if I wanted to. He knew he always got to me with his charming way of being George.

"I know you need your time as single, right?" he asked and I hummed, waiting for him to go on with his point. "And that may be partly true, but I know you... oh, and William told me you're scared."

I tilted my head, watching him.

"William doesn't know what he's talking about?"

"No?" he questioned. "Then tell me... if you're not scared, then what are you?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his question as I shrugged.

"I don't know what I want." I told him honestly. "I mean... I want you in my life but I don't know if I want it to be romantically because I have absolutely no idea if it'll last."

George nodded slowly, licking his lips.

"Close you eyes."

"George, I'm not–"

"Go on, angel." he said and I felt my stomach twist at the nickname I hadn't heard from him in so long. "Close your eyes for me."

I hesitated but then closed my eyes, a small smile playing on my lip and I felt the hairs on my back rise when I heard George's slow footsteps. A moment later, I could sense him stand right in front of me. It felt like his eyes were digging right through my body and it was a feeling I recognised from all the times I caught him staring.

"Think about the beach." he said softly. "You like the beach."

I hummed, trying not to laugh at what he wanted me to do.

"Are you thinking about–"

"I'm thinking about the beach." I nodded, smiling.

"Alright... imagine that you're sitting on a blanket with a basket of either fruit or some type of other food. It can be whatever you want."

"Wait–" I said. "...can there be giraffes on the blanket?"

"I mean... I guess."

"Great."

"Now shut up and listen." he said, making me scoff in response. "You're staring out at the sea, seeing families or groups of friends have fun together. You're smiling, you're feeling happy – safe."

My smile grew and I ran my tongue over my top teeth while imagining exactly what he was mentioning.

"Next to you sits a person close to you and they're speaking to you while you're simply listening. They may me telling you something they experienced or they may simply be telling you about something they care about. So while you stare at the ocean, all you hear is their voice and it makes you smile because the voice too, makes you feel happy and safe." he said. "You wouldn't want to spend the day on the beach with anyone other than this particular person. Simply because you love them and you want them. Now... look at that person and tell me who it is."

_Oh shit._

I opened my eyes to look up at George who was now smirking at me.

"You manipulating little sh–"

"It's alright, darling... you can admit that you want me."

I stared up at him for a moment, laughing through gritted teeth which made him slowly back up. I slowly pulled out my wand, pointing it at a chair that stood all lonely by the door.

I transformed the chair into a pillow, flicked my wand and caught the pillow as it came flying towards me. George raised an eyebrow at me but a second later, I had pocketed my wand and was beating the shit out of him while he shrieked, trying to protect his face.

He ended up on the floor, screaming for his life while I stood over him and continued to beat him with the pillow.

"Allie!" He laughed, grabbing onto the pillow, suddenly stopping my actions of beating him up. "You got me. You won. Man down."

I crouched down over him, the pillow in my hand.

"You listen to me—" I said. "...I do want to be with you at one point, but right now there is two things standing in the way."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... first of all, I need some _me_ time." I said, trying to hit him in the face with the pillow, but he managed to grab onto the pillow again while his other hand grabbed around my collar and brought me closer to his face. "And second of all... I want to be sure that when someone happens, you'll stay and not leave."

"Angel." He sighed, bringing his hand to cup my face, thumb stroking my cheek. "I had to heal from what happened."

"Okay." I nodded. "You could've been clear about that. All you said was that you couldn't be with me anymore because you felt guilty. We've always been good at communicating but somehow it went wrong at the end."

He hummed.

"I know." He muttered, running his thumb over my bottom lip.

"You're thinking about kissing me right now, aren't you?"

He bit his lip, hummed as he nodded.

"Your lips are looking _very_ fucking kissable right now." He said, tugging at my lip with his thumb. " _Soft."_

_Oh fuck me._

"I still love you, y'know." I said, his eyes flicking back up to mine. "I've loved you since our first date to Hogsmeade. Just because I'm not ready right now, doesn't mean I'm not interested. I just hope you're willing to wait."

He smiled softly, nodding.

"I'll wait for you for as long as you need me to."

I slowly got off of him to sit on the floor with the pillow while he sat up as well, running his fingers through his messy hair.

"Thank you." I told him. _"Lover boy."_

He didn't respond. He simply smiled while looking at me as I put the pillow down, pulled out my wand and turned it back into a chair.

"Since when did you get so good at magic?" George asked, chuckling. "In school, you were still struggling with both non-verbal magic but also wandless magic."

I smiled.

"I'm still struggling with wandless magic." I said. "I've gotten better at summoning things without my wand but sometimes it's rather tricky. Though I have a wand made out of Ebony wood."

"So?"

"So?" I questioned. "You don't know about Ebony wood?"

"I can't say that I do, darling?" He shook his head. "I know about my own wand thought. Figured that's what matters."

I hummed softly, studying his face before I decided to explain.

"Well, Marco's actually the one who explained it to me back in eighty-nine when we started Hogwarts. A wand made out of Ebony wood is as you can see, jet black. It's great at Transfiguration and combative magic. They prefer witches and wizards with courage to be themselves. Someone who has their own opinions and doesn't let anyone change their view on the world."

"Sounds like you." George smiled and gently took my wand from my hand, studying it before he used it to bop my nose. "Imagine if I used some non-verbal magic right there and blew your head off."

I narrowed my eyes at him at him at his words.

"I think I've rubbed off on you." I said while George ran my wand along my jaw, turning my head a little so his eyes could meet mine.

"You're cute."


End file.
